I love wildflowers.  Lupines are probably my very favorite wildflower, although there is a heavy field of competition.  In Northern Minnesota lupines are blooming near the end of June and through the beginning of July.  They are in random roadside places and in meadows, and I wait for them each…

Mr. Trouble on Feet has been waiting and waiting and waiting all year for his birthday to occur again.  He patiently celebrated all of his siblings’ birthdays and his parents’ birthdays and the birthdays of friends.  All through fall, winter, summer and spring he inquired about when it would actually…

Our outdoor chalkboards continue to be some of my favorite things about summer.  I love walking toward my deck in the backyard and seeing scenes like this one, and I love how the rain washes them away and we start something new together.  I love how everyone participates in their…

I was a little curious to see how it would go with just Mr. Trouble on Feet as an only child for ten days while his siblings were with Grandma Kathy.  On one hand, Mr. TOF loves one on one attention, and we have some great routines that we are…

The big kids were still away at Grandma Kathy’s, and Mr. TOF  picked the Secret Beach for our destination.  We had both taken luxuriously long Sunday afternoon naps, which was perfect for an extended beach visit after supper. We don’t go to the Secret Beach as often as the others…

  To celebrate the Fourth of July, our neighbor halfway down the street had the wild and crazy idea of roasting a whole pig.  In the ground.  It didn’t take much convincing before Dr. Peds and our neighbors up the hill were on board.  Arrangements were made to procure a…

This year I only had one kid left for the morning Kid Parade.  It was kind of sad, but not too sad, because let me tell you, age four is pretty much the prime age to appreciate every aspect of the kid parade.  Mr. TOF was highly anticipating parade day…

The three big kidlets were all in transit to Grandma Kathy’s house to spend more than a week with her on an excursion to the badlands.  It was Sunday Night, so Mr. TOF and I headed to the beach.  He picked a sandy beach, and we headed out just a…

I’ve had in my mind for nearly a year now, the idea of flying kites at the sandy beach.  Last fall I spotted some really neat kites in a shop down in Canal Park, and I ruminated about them all through the long and cold winter.  At the beginning of…

Friends, I have done the calculations.   For at least  the next 14 years I will have a child labor force capable and employed to mow the lawn.  Hooray! YaYa was not excited to learn to mow.  In fact, drama was involved, but in the end I think she discovered…